Cydia

There are already tweaks in Cydia Store such as MarkThatMessage and Cyntact that offer services that give you contact photos and timestamps. Cyntact however is just for the Contacts.app and MarkThatMessage is strictly for the Messages.app. SMSEnhancer takes both those features and incorporates them into one and places it into the Messages.app.

SMSEnhancer, by Alexandros Melakis (@melakis), tweaks the Messages.app conversation windows to show timestamps and contact photos of those in the conversation. Each time you send a message, it has an icon by your name (one that you choose). Then whatever contact photo you have set for the person you're messaging in your Contacts.app will show up next to each message bubble. At this point, the settings are minimal with enable timestamps and contact/your photo, but new features are imminent as the implementation is creative.

What makes this tweak unique is that the contact photos add an IM feeling to your Messages.app. With timestamps, you can know when you receive and send texts. Not to mention, it adds a little more functionality and has potential for future incorporations.

It has not been released yet but has been submitted to Cydia. When available on Cydia, it will cost $.99. Stay posted for its release and of course, keep refreshing Cydia! It is compatible with the iPhone all the way to the iOS 5 Beta (iOS 5 Beta 2 has not been tested and the iOS 5 Beta doesn't allow for a Settings.app tab; basically, you can't enable/disable toggles of Cydia tweaks because PreferenceLoader is not supported currently.).

Name: SMSEnhancerAuthor: Alexandros MelakisVersion: 1.0Price: $0.99

This application has not been made available but has been submitted Cydia. Expect the release soon.

Not bad, but nothing too exciting, i have been using bitesms for a while now and it has all these features and a ton more, although the pricetag for the full version is a little high for bitesms, but you can use the free version with ads after your free trial is up.

However, what makes SMSEnhancer unique is that it's native. It runs within the already stock Messages.app. No argument for those who use biteSMS and others, but it's always nice to have something that runs seamless with the few native components.

However, what makes SMSEnhancer unique is that it's native. It runs within the already stock Messages.app. No argument for those who use biteSMS and others, but it's always nice to have something that runs seamless with the few native components.

Thats a good point Josh, but one of the features i love about bitesms is the quick reply, cuz apples message app is boring and not as functional as it could be. I do like this app, but i think there could be more features to give bitesms a run for its money.

Thats a good point Josh, but one of the features i love about bitesms is the quick reply, cuz apples message app is boring and not as functional as it could be. I do like this app, but i think there could be more features to give bitesms a run for its money.

It's difficult however to run up against a team of developers who have established themselves well so far. This is Alexandros's first tweak ever so I think its a valid start. I can see why those who have biteSMS and others would not be as inclined, however it offers better functionality for the majority who don't use biteSMS.

I've been using quickreply and cyntact since BiteSMS causes random crashes on my iPhone4 (4.3.3). Oddly quickreply does the same strange behavior that caused BiteSMS to crash, but that behavior doesn't itself cause a crash. Sometimes several minutes after I've responded through quickreply or BiteSMS the SMS will come through again looking like a normal notification and that's when the crash happens (with BiteSMS it crashes). As such I'll use this app in order to make messages.app more like BiteSMS. But as the prior post says, BiteSMS is incredibly feature rich and absolutely blows this and the like out of the water with its bevy of features.

I've been using quickreply and cyntact since BiteSMS causes random crashes on my iPhone4 (4.3.3). Oddly quickreply does the same strange behavior that caused BiteSMS to crash, but that behavior doesn't itself cause a crash. Sometimes several minutes after I've responded through quickreply or BiteSMS the SMS will come through again looking like a normal notification and that's when the crash happens (with BiteSMS it crashes). As such I'll use this app in order to make messages.app more like BiteSMS. But as the prior post says, BiteSMS is incredibly feature rich and absolutely blows this and the like out of the water with its bevy of features.

Well that's great, give it a shot; I think it's a great addition to the Messages.app. It is available on Cydia now if you want to check it out.

Once again, despite showing there are 6 replies to this article, I can only see the first one. I really need to write down the magic sequence of clicks needed to make the new format work. The developers need to either fix it, or swap back to the old format while they work out the kinks in this one.

Once again, despite showing there are 6 replies to this article, I can only see the first one. I really need to write down the magic sequence of clicks needed to make the new format work. The developers need to either fix it, or swap back to the old format while they work out the kinks in this one.

I'm not sure why this is an issue? I can see all the comments on this particular thread directly from the front page. Is anyone else having the same issue as you?

I'm not sure why this is an issue? I can see all the comments on this particular thread directly from the front page. Is anyone else having the same issue as you?

I finally got it to work. It's happened a couple of times, and I have seen a few other posts about it so I know I'm not the only one. It may be browser specific (I'm using Chrome on a mac). Next time it happens to me I'll try it with safari.

I finally got it to work. It's happened a couple of times, and I have seen a few other posts about it so I know I'm not the only one. It may be browser specific (I'm using Chrome on a mac). Next time it happens to me I'll try it with safari.

Just got the update, still not quite right tho. Not all contact pictures are showing up and no pictures are showing up in the body of the message itself. Like the tweak, but still not quite there. Timestamps are solid, although the on/off toggle in the settings does nothing.

Looks like reapplying contact pictures solves the issue of them not showing up. Still cant figure out the toggles in the settings, dont really change anything afterwards, even with respring/restart.